Cross Country Team Scores Upset Victory; Embarrasses Tigers, Elis in Big Three Meet

A spirited Harvard cross-country team ran wild in yesterday's Big Three meet, upsetting Princeton, 26-30, and over-whelming Yale, 19-38, in a hotly contested race held at Franklin Park, Dorchester.

The Crimson runners swept the race, insuring victory with a tightly run one-two-three finish. Freshman Reed Eichner came in first, at 26:21, followed five seconds later by number-two Jeff Campbell, and all-Ivy sophomore Pete Fitzsimmons at 26:27.

Quick Pace

The leaders set an extremely quick pace throughout the race. Harvard's Stein Rafto came out of the gate and blew the race wide open, tearing past the one-mile mark at 4:26. Three-quarters of a mile later, Campbell and Fitzsimmons took over, running the two-mile at 9:13, and trading the lead for the next 2.5 miles.

With only a half-mile left in the race, Eichner, who had been sharing fourth place with Jerry Kooymans, Princeton's top gun, suddenly kicked up and blazed a blue streak towards the finish line.

Behind the Crimson top trio came Yale captain Dan Schlesinger and an unbroken string of five Princeton runners, all at a safe distance. Stein Rafto was plagued with knee trouble and hit the tenth spot at 27:13.

Whirlwind

"Usually we have one or two guys setting the pace, but this time we had four," McCurdy said. "That's an indication of some really strong team running," he added.

Number-three man Pete Fitzsimmons concurred. "we ran extremely well as a team, something we've been doing all season long," he said yesterday.

The race was the capstone for a Harvard cross country season remarkable for its outstanding performances but disappointing results. "We had a very tough schedule and were running against the top teams in the East all season long," captain Jeff Campbell said yesterday. "This win gives us a chance to establish our reputation against a really good team," he added.

Radcliffe blitz

The Radcliffe cross-country team surpassed the varsity's performance at Franklin Park yesterday, in the first women's Big Three meet. The distaff harriers entered five runners in the meet, and they finished one-two-three-four-five, blitzing Princeton and Yale, 15-50.

The winners, in order of finish, were Kat Taylor, Sarah Linsely, captain Sarah Robinson, Carla Jacobson, and Wendy Carle.

Too Much

The Harvard junior varsity had a less gratifying day, losing to Princeton by the disconcerting score of 15-50. The Tigers ran a blitz, as their first five runners finished ahead of all comers.

The varsity harriers will have a chance to firmly establish their preeminence in next Friday's Heptagonals in New York City, where they will face Army, Navy and the rest of the Ivy League.